I have been feeling some frustration lately because when friends find out I commute, and do pretty much all my transportation by bike, they usually say "That is great, I wish I could commute by bike too." Then when I ask why not I often get surprised stammers and answers like, "Well I.... I...I have too much stuff to bring to work... Too far... too uncomfortable" etc, etc.

What really bugs me is that it is obvious that many of these people have never thought about it seriously, since there are many ways to accommodate large loads, longer distances (these people also do not know how long their commute actually is), etc.

So, what reasons have you heard someone say? And how do you respond to them? I don't like being preachy, but it is hard to hear someone say these things, but also not make an effort to think about it more seriously.

"It would mess up my hair." From a guy. A balding guy. I had no response...

I don't worry about it. My coworkers all take the bus. That's fine with me. If they ask me for cycling tips, I'll give them, but I don't want to hear about how the bus is great any more than they want to hear about how cycling's great.

LOL! That's the best!

It's too hot. It's too cold. It's too wet. It's too windy. It's too far. It's too short. I'm afraid of cars. I'm not in good enough shape. The seat is too hard. My tires are flat. Ad infinitum.

I don't try to convince anybody anymore. I just say "if you want to give it a try, I'd be happy to help."

I don't have a job.

Why should I care if they 'make an effort to think about it more seriously' or not? It's their life, not mine. If they express an interest I am happy to help in any way I can, but if they don't, oh well, nothing for me to be concerned, angry or even spend time thinking about.

Neither will I in a couple of weeks, by the looks of it. Oh well. More time to ride...

Knock them over the head, tie them up with rope, and drag them behind your bike to work, to show them how easy it is!

There's a guy in my apartment complex who gets up and rides 10 miles as his morning "commute." He works from home, so technically his commute is about 10 yards from his bedroom to his office.

I'm mystified at the things that people say to me, like when it rains:

"Didn't you get wet?"

Um, yes, in fact, I did. But these fabulous rectangles of fabric, sometimes called towels, magically soak up droplets of water.

"Isn't it cold?"

Um, yes, it is. But interestingly, proper dress, combined with my body's amazing ability to regulate its temperature somehow helps me pull through. Thanks for asking though.

Darn, I'm looking for a resouce guide that I've seen a while back that had a top 20 list of excuses with comebacks in favor of commuting by bike so that you can pass it on to them.

Tempting!

Oooh, sounds interesting.

Most of the time I hear "You mean you ride up THAT hill?!"

The hill does make the commute to work a bit of a challenge.

'scared of traffic' is by far the most common reason i hear. secondary are the heat, being too sweaty, no place to lock up and it gets dark at night (but of course it does)

Huh. Most superheroes want to change the world right away---but you are just taking it day by day. Fascinating!

I don't mind the excuses, either. You got to accept that it's kind of odd doing what we do. To get a convert or two is icing on the cake, when you consider the fun of bicycle commuting.

I don't care if anyone else does or does not ride to work so no excuses to actually listen to. I also have no desire to convert anyone. However, one of my coworkers used to ride triathlons before her hip went out of wack.... hip tendonitous (whatever that is called). She would be fun to ride to work with and has volunteered to come along someday. She lives close to my halfway point.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Right now my excuse is "wife wants me home ASAP after work to help with the baby and can't wait the extra 45 mins for me to cycle home..." However, as the baby gets older and requires less um...attention and as gas prices keep going up I'm wearing her down. I already get out of bed early and cycle every morning in preparation for the day she breaks down. I cycle more now than I ever did. I used to go out and hit a MTB trail 2x during the week and then hit a long ride on Sunday. Now I hit the road every morning and still do a long ride on Sunday. Some day...everyone hope for me!

Most people I've come across that make the "I wish I could live without a car..." comment when they find that I DO live without a car are actually just people who wish they didn't have to PAY for their car. They want to be free of the cost of a car but don't want to experience the inconvience of having to find closer alternatives to their current entertainment/shopping/whatever choices. Their comment is truth, to an extent but it is also part platitude quite frequently.

It's just weird when people say "I'd love to, but...". If they don't want, they don't want to, and that's fine, but why SAY they'd like to and then make excuses?

Excellent points!! I think that is true for a lot of people; living in a car saturated culture means it can be hard to break from the thinking that you NEED a car.

this pretty much sums up everything. you could put a wide variety of topics in there.

i'd love to go out with you, but...
i'd love to volunteer at the homeless shelter, but...
i'd love to help you move this weekend, but...

I work at home too, but every morning I get up and ride to work with my girlfriend. If I'm not too busy, or if I feel like a break, sometimes I'll go meet her after too

Ah, well, there's my problem. I have a really hard time with people saying things they don't mean. (Part of it has to do with a specific learning disability - some social cues don't register for me)

"I'd love to go out with you, but..." usually comes out as "get away from me you FREAK"
"No, I don't want to volunteer at the homeless shelter."
"No, I can't help you move. Sorry." (if I like the person)

Please note that this isn't necessarily a good thing!